Moonflower

By EDC Johnson

After Josephine Woods' father dies of cancer, her mother up-roots the two of them and moves to the city. Josie hates her city life, but her teenage issues are of little consequence when they have a car accident and she wakes up in a strange land (reminiscent of Victorian Europe) alone. Lost, with her school backpack as the only connection to her world, Josie struggles to find her way home. She is found by Lucius Conrí, the son of a Marquess, who possesses royal blood and the gift to shift into a wolf’s form at will. Can the kind-hearted Lucius help her find her way while winning her love, or will she fall for Donovan Conrí his older, more serious brother and heir to the Conrí wealth?

• Language: English
• Publisher: EDC Johnson
• Release date: Jun 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476232003

EDC Johnson

EDC Johnson grew up in the Midwest, graduating from Michigan State University with her BFA in Art Education and her MA in Art Education from Western Michigan University. She currently lives with her husband in Palm Harbor, Florida. Her decade of experience as a public school art teacher has inspired her to write fiction novels that will entice young readers. You may see some of her illustrations in Renee Mallet's: Fairies, Mermaids, and Other Mystical Creatures. Find more information about EDC Johnson on her Web site www.EDCJohnson.com.

Book preview

Moonflower

E. D. C. Johnson

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Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 E. D. C. Johnson

All rights reserved.

License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

* * *

To my mother, the woman who made me believe I can do anything

I set my mind to—as long as I finished it.

Chapter One

The alarm blared for the third time sending an electric jolt through Josie Woods’ body. She hated waking up early in the morning. In fact, Josie hated a lot of things these days. She hated the new house they moved to in the city. She hated the new school she attended where snotty rich girls wore name brand clothes and carried purses with labels that even her mother could not afford. Josie even hated her father for leaving them in this state of destitution, but most of all she hated feeling lonely.

At the moment she struggled with her distain of waking to a freezing cold room and pulled her purple striped afghan up to her nose. In an act to conserve energy, and save money, her mother turned down the thermostat at night. It was so cold that Josie thought she might be able to see her breath if she dared reach out from under the covers to turn on a light.

Josie, her mother called from downstairs.

Josie did not budge. After a long moment with her eyes closed, she carefully stretched out her arm—breaking the seal of her blankets which allowed frigid air to seep in—and turned on the clock radio. The electric guitar of an 80’s rock ballad flourished before the song came to an end. This was followed by the ramblings of an overly perky DJ. The excited voice of the middle-aged woman announced, …it’s gonna be a cold one out there. Saying that it would be cold at the end of January in the Midwest was stating the obvious, Josie thought, disgusted.

She waited anxiously to hear the school cancellations. There were several schools closed with rural bus routes but not a single one in the city. The DJ warned that black ice, due to wind chill, may be an issue despite the efforts of the salt trucks during the night.

Josie gave a long sigh, turned on the small, metal bedside lamp then quickly pushed down the covers to hop out of bed. Stealthily, she tiptoed into the hall to turn up the thermostat. She wanted to sit by the register and feel the hot air while she changed out of her pajamas.

The hardwood floor was cold on her feet and her father’s oversized t-shirt did little to cover her legs. She threw her jeans and cream colored turtleneck sweater on the floor near the register and draped her socks over it to absorb some heat before pulling them on. The register was below the only window in her small bedroom.

The old, drafty wooden-framed window had layers of chipped paint covering the slats that divided the glass panes. Frost blanketed the inside of the glass with fractals of ice-crystals preventing her from seeing out. Josie placed her index finger on the windowpane melting a tiny oval. Unable to see through the small opening, she scraped at the frost with her finger nails creating flakes of snow that melted on her warm skin.

Outside the scene was bleak. Everything was covered in stark white snow; including the mound in the middle of the driveway that once was their car. Add that to the list of things I hate about this house…broken garage door, check. She scrunched her face, loathing that she would have to help her mother brush the snow off the car.

Josephine! her mother called again.

Josie’s mother constantly badgered her in the morning and usually for the same two reasons. First was to remind her to eat breakfast, and second was to be ready on time. Josie missed the days when her mother would gently wake her up and make her lunches.

After a difficult end to middle school, and an equally poor start to high school, Mrs. Woods had decided to place Josie at a charter high school. This meant that school was too far for bus transportation. Driving Josie to school every day was inconvenient but, apparently, a more palatable choice than sending her to a school with gang problems. Her mother no longer coddling her coincided with the change of school. Josie often wondered if it related to her growing up or more to the fact that it was shortly after her father’s death.

Many things changed in their lives at that time. Not only did she change school districts, they moved to a more affordable neighborhood. The new house was small and the neighborhood was a far cry from her old suburban life. Each house was within throwing distance of the others and the occasional misplaced window would allow one neighbor a direct view into another’s bedroom. Every tiny yard was enclosed by a fence, usually chain link, as if to protect what little space and privacy each could have.

Their house may have been lovely when it was first built in the late nineteen forties, but now the many layers of pale yellow paint were peeling. The small wooden porch was equally in need of repair. Each step creaked in protest when anyone walked to the faded front door. The once manicured bushes had become overgrown, as was the yard. Neither Josie nor her mother were fond of yard work.

The neighborhood was full of children and near enough to the main street that Josie could walk to the stores, but she wasn’t allowed to go out at night alone. Her mother was always worried about gangs and pedophiles roaming the streets. Josie couldn’t blame her. She felt funny simply walking down the road passing by the people sitting on old couches and lawn chairs on their porches.

Josephine Woods, hurry up and have some breakfast! The shouting came from the kitchen.

Josie sighed and quickly pulled on her dark, boot-cut jeans, a t-shirt, and the turtleneck sweater. She was grateful that Aspire Charter High School didn’t have a dress code—despite the fact that her clothes were not as fashionable as the other students. Just because you go to a ritzy school doesn’t mean that you are rich, she thought.

It gave peace-of-mind to her mother, but Josie didn’t see the difference from Central Public High. To her it was like trading one problem for another. Sure there were gangs at Central, but they ignored the average kids for the most part. At Aspire the wealthy popular kids tended to remind their classmates that they were not as well-off.

Josie’s mother had placed her on a waiting list to get in. Three weeks into her junior year she transferred to Aspire. She managed to make a couple friends with the normal kids. Within months, she had become very good at shopping for name brand clothing at the second hand shops. Josie felt pretty safe from being spotted shopping there since none of the rich kids would step foot into a consignment store.

The radio announcers took another break from their 80’s montage to banter about the weather. The woman repeated the earlier report but added her own flare by saying, It’s a combination of slush and ice from melting in yesterday’s sun. Watch out today. The freezing temperatures over night, and several inches of snow have made those roads slippery. The man announced a few more delays but no additional school closings. The world would have to be ending for school to actually close in the Midwest; snow wasn’t a big deal.

Josie grabbed her brown hiking boots, sat on the floor, and strapped them on with double knots. They still fit rather well so she guessed that her feet had finally stopped growing. She stood up and looked in the mirror hoping that the rest of her had not stopped growing as well. She didn’t mind being skinny but her modest sized breasts were sigh worthy.

Josephine Ann Woods. You are going to make me late for work!

I’m coming! Gosh. Looking in the mirror one last time, she pushed back her shoulders and arched her back. Even that was not enough to satisfy her. She scoffed and brushed her long dark hair into a twist securing it to her head with a hair claw. After spritzing her flyaways with hairspray, she hurried to the kitchen.

Josie I told you I have a big project going on at work and that I need to be there on time, Mrs. Woods said emphatically.

I know! Her mother had mentioned it about ten times that week. Josie could feel her eyes squint in annoyance while she checked her backpack for all of her homework.

Here, I made you a couple toaster strudels. Her mother passed her a plate of two golden brown rectangles and packages of icing.

Josie squeezed out the icing and without bothering to get a knife, spread it across the pastry with her finger. She licked her finger after icing the second one and conjured up her most angelic voice possible.

Mom. Her voice dripped with sweetness. May I drive to school today?

Uhhhh, Josephine, her mother replied impatiently, spreading jelly on her English muffin with a butter knife.

But Mom, how am I ever supposed to get my license if you never let me practice, Josie whined without letting her mother continue. Her sweet voice had changed to sound more like a yipping dog.

Didn’t I just say I was in a hurry…I don’t have time for this.

But, Mom!

No! I will not argue with a child. Unless you want to be grounded, don’t say another word.

A humph was all Josie dared to let escape. Winter had really put a stop to logging more practice hours in the driver’s seat. She looked forward to having a license more than anything. Finally, Josie would be able to drive herself to school and the mall. She wasn’t allowed to walk anywhere, but she thought she could convince her mother to let her drive places, at least on the weekend.

She finished her pastries and downed the small glass of orange juice her mother had poured for her. Josie hurried to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, shoving the toothbrush inside a plastic bag and into her backpack. Bad breath could be social suicide so she had gotten in the habit of brushing her teeth after lunch. Josie didn’t carry a purse. Her backpack had become a virtual suitcase containing her wallet, PE clothes, towel, shoes, soap, makeup, and tampons.

She remembered to grab an additional supply of tampons for her PE locker and placed them in a Ziploc bag. Josie laughed to herself. What a girl scout! She refused to be caught unprepared. It was a wonder she had room for any books. She shuffled back to the kitchen. Neither Josie nor her mother spoke. She pulled on her warm jacket and stomped out to the car.

Josie wiped off the window and door jam with her coat sleeve before opening the backseat to find the snow brush. Her mother started the car, turned on the defrost, and scrapped ice off the windshield. The once new silver Chrysler was now pushing nine years old. It was what little remained from their previous life.

Josie strapped on her seatbelt, hugged her backpack in her lap, and rested her chin on the top. She could feel her eyebrows furrow and her lips push out in a pout. Her mother hurriedly got in, cranked up the heater, put on her own seatbelt, and sighed as they pulled out of the snowy driveway. Josie knew she would have to take care of shoveling later. After a few blocks, her mother spoke in a strained voice.

Ok, if you get home, do your chores, and shovel the driveway….then I will take you to the church parking lot to practice driving in the snow. A small smile of triumph flashed across Josie’s face. Her mother must have seen it since she added, "All of your chores better be done before I get home. Got it?"

Ok, Josie said hoping not to sound too eager. She wondered for a moment if this would be a good time to mention something else. She supposed she should take advantage while her mother was being nice. You know, I’ve been thinking. Pausing to find the right words allowed her mother to reply with skepticism.

Oh, really.

Hear me out. I know it has been really hard on you since…Dad is gone so, I was thinking I could do more to help out.

Keep getting good grades and maybe a scholarship. That would be a help.

No really, Mom, the speed of her voice increased with her excitement. I was thinking of getting a job. I could get a part-time job at the mall and work on weekends and maybe after school sometimes. Since I’m going to get my license soon—

Her mother cut her off. Josephine, I don’t want you doing anything that will distract you from your school work. Besides, things aren’t that bad and you don’t even have a car yet.

That’s just it Mom I can get a used car and my work will pay for insurance and gas and… she was desperately grabbing at ideas that would win over her mother’s support. And you wouldn’t have to drive me to school!

Josie, we can talk about this more when I get—

Her mother’s words stopped though her mouth remained open. It all happened so fast but Josie could see everything unfolding as if time slowed. Screeching came from the right side of the car when they were about to pass through the intersection. Her mother desperately flung her arm over Josie’s body to hold her back against the seat. Mrs. Wood’s face went white.

The last thing Josie saw was the glaring silver emblem on the grill of a large blue Dodge Ram pickup truck only a foot away from her passenger window. Her last thought when she turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut was I’m going to die.

Oh, Jesus, was all she had time to say.

Chapter Two

Josie was unsure if she had blacked out, but she realized that she felt no pain. Oh no, did I die? Maybe my spine is broken! Her accelerated heartbeat and the blood rushing through her veins was all she could hear. A beating heart, she realized with elation, meant she was alive. She tried moving her fingers and toes. Her body felt like she was awaking from a long night’s sleep. Her limbs were stiff. Her muscles ached.

The sound of rushing blood was replaced by her breathing and what she thought may be the wind. Slowly, she released her clenched eyes only to still see darkness and stars. Josie wondered how hard she had hit her head when some of the greenish stars drifted and sway.

Lying there silently for a moment she watched in confusion at the peculiar starlight performance. Some stars stood still while others floated and blinked in succession. She would have lain there for quite a while longer but snapped to attention as one star descended to her face. Seeing the wings of the lightning bug reflected in its own strange green light, Josie released a quick breath in realization. Lightning bugs! Lightning bugs come out at night and she was seeing stars, quite literally.

Josie slowly sat up to feel the cool touch of the night air. Her eyes adjusted to the scene, her mouth falling open in shock and amazement. She sat in, what seemed to her, a field of tall wild grass under a night sky. Not a flake of snow was on the ground and the air was cool but not frigid. Dozens of lightning bugs flew about her. She quickly stood up to see over the height of the thick grasses. Spinning around she called out.

Mom, Mom. Mom, where are you? Anyone? Help, anybody!

No one replied to her desperate cries. There was only the sound of the breeze sifting through the grass and the bugs hiding within. Confused about where she was and how she got there, Josie felt tears welling up in her eyes. She hated crying with a passion. In fact, she often thought—after her father’s death—that she had cried enough to last the rest of her life. Her lip quivered while she took a deep breath to calm herself. She had to think. What am I going to do? Crying won’t solve anything.

She turned in the field, slower this time, and was surprised to see more clearly. The moon was very bright and large in the starlit sky. It appeared closer to the Earth than she could ever recall, but Josie was grateful for the desperately needed light.

To her left the field reached out to the horizon. On her right it did very much the same but in the distance she made out tall shapeless masses, perhaps trees.

She stopped short of tripping over something on the ground. The black backpack she had with her that morning lay in one piece before her feet; not a button, patch, or key chain missing or out of place. Josie was grateful to see something familiar in this strange situation and heaved it onto her shoulder.

She hesitated on the edge of the unknown, empty field. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage and high-stepped through the field toward the dark blobs.

The swishing of her legs through the grass and her active breathing were the only noises for a short distance. Josie paused holding her breath when she heard something more, some faint sound off in the distance. The low rumble of rushing, high trickling water dancing around river rocks floated in the air.

She ran in anticipation. For the first time, she knew where she was going, or at least what to expect when she got there. The grass shortened then stopped abruptly at the edge of a flowing river. It seemed shallow enough to walk across, but the water was moving quickly. Across the river, she saw more tall grass and the beginning of a forest.

Josie stood staring in the different directions available to her. None seemed distinct from the others, but the idea of getting wet did not appeal to her in the least. Rolling up her pants would be futile. Although she would not have to swim, the water appeared to come up past her knees or perhaps to her waist. And the air became cooler as time passed.

Josie recalled her limited knowledge of geography and decided it would be best to travel alongside the river. Cities and towns are often built along water, right? Besides, all she needed was one single home, and she would be able to call her mother to be rescued.

Josie scowled with resentment. She and her mother had argued about purchasing a cell phone a couple of weeks prior. Her mother said they couldn’t afford it. I bet you wish I had one now. She wondered if her mother knew she was missing. Was her mother missing too? What happened? I thought we were going to have an accident.

Standing there in confusion was a waste of time. Her decision was to walk with the current of the river. A giggle bubbled out of her when she admitted to herself that the basis of her decision was to go with the flow.

She bent down clumsily from the weight of her backpack to take a drink before walking. A rustling noise startled her and she almost fell into the water. Josie scrambled backward in a crab like fashion. The heavy backpack prevented her from standing immediately. Several feet away, up river, a large shaggy dog emerged from the tall grass into the clearing near the river. Her muscles tightened. She struggled to free herself from the straps of her backpack. Once she escaped the restraint of the heavy bag, she awkwardly rolled over onto all fours.

Good doggy, was all that came out of her open mouth. Her breath was heavy, strained. Her throat squeezed shut. A low grumble resonated from the dog. Not the reaction she had hoped for. Shielding herself, backpack in front of her, Josie began rising into a low squat, cautious not to make any sudden moves.

She cooed calm words while she back-stepped to gain a small distance between them. Her left foot slipped and splashed into the water. She gasped when she teetered, almost falling completely in. The water! Perhaps the dog would not follow her across the river. It had already closed some of the gap between them.

Josie raised her backpack over her head. She awkwardly continued to back away facing the direction she came from. The frigid water stabbed at her with needle-like precision. She was halfway across when she saw the dog reach the edge of the river. It paused there briefly, sniffing the ground where she had stood then looked at her eerily as if analyzing her retreat.

The dog suddenly turned and darted

Reviews for Moonflower

[rshelton_22 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really loved this book. Josie is a teenager who awakes after a major car accident in a forest in a different world. As she struggles with finding her way back home, she encounters one of two brothers who saves her from a dangerous encounter. She ends up staying with the brothers and learns of their royal blood lines and shapeshifting capabilities, and then truly finds herself liking both of them. Josie is very likable as a character and I found myself unconsciously rooting for one brother. The brothers are the opposite extremes, and both of Josie's mind and body are pulled between their strengths and weaknesses. While this is YA fiction, the story will appeal to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance or fantasy writing. I found it hard to put down once I began. The writing is very well done and I pictured myself having the same reactions as Josie if, like her, I were thrust into a different world. The book ends with the possibility of a sequel (I'm hoping for one), and I look forward to more of EDC Johnson's work.